Method of combustion.



:10.755.376: ETESTEDMAR. 22,1904."y

@Humm AMETHOD 0F GOMBUSTION.

APPLIoAf-LION FILED JUNE ihrem.

` no nonni..

.VIII

UNITED STATES 4. Patented March 22! 1904..

CHARLES E. LUCKE,v

`or New YORKQN. Y,"

,METHOD OF COMBUSTlON- "'i SPECIFICATION forming pm of Letters Patent' N755,376', dated Marcil 22,' 196.4`- .1

pication tibi .fue 7, 1901. Serial No, 6515 9. (No specimens.)

.To uil whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, Crum-ss FL. Lto-Kiev, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New York city, countv of New York, :ind Stute of NewYork` have invented certain new: und usefui Improvementsin Methods ofComtxurtion, ullydcrihed und represented in tht-ollowing specificationand the ace@mpnnyiirgdraw ings., forming n. purt of the same. l

Thisinvention relntea` to the non-ex1i`ioie combustion of explosivegaseous niiztjturhq,

The ohjeet of the in ention is to provide t" practical method ot'burning,r such mixtur non-explosively und continuously.

The u5es to which such a method of Com,- bustion muy be put are verynumerous, and thedesimhility of such :i method him heen long felt: butno satisfactory prncteu; method of burningI explosive ,inist-onsmixtures noncxplosivt-Lv und continuously has to my knowledge been knownprior to my invention.-

inni or maintained :it :i dwiretl wiri 'Ille ditiiculty which hashentot'on: been met with in the comlmstion of exploive ixuseoi mixtureshun` been due to tht` fact that combustion .-t:1rtvd et :my point tendsto propugute itrelf throughout the mixture wi'h grt-ut rapidity. lf themixture iw: :it rest. the surfasce of eomhustion changes its podtioo,mow' in;r through the muss; vlf themixt re lie'in motiozn the surface ofromiuhtif'm :may he :it rr t or iu motion,-lut rt ill iw :it-wrt oniywhen the mixture moves with :i velocity equx to the. mit*ut'flrouignfion o1' inlzimmritiot'z t'irough thernimure` Noprut-fondlyMuseessul method huxzeretet'ore been known v. herein: the thunecui orsurface ot' cmnirtbtion could tw lorult under the varying minditon ofactual pro.

By my method of etfzniittimi l mi t'mtl'iled to Uominithe moretimiiimtion within r auniizbtion is pmei tained at :t desired po z 1secunthis :esuit ily causing'` the mixture to tio-f: with a velocitygreuterthen the nite of progrzigution of inflammation tix-magix themixture and then ts or the sorteer of Q rrow lim-its. se that the i ylt'itzilizied um. tuuinng it tofs'pread out or expend :and its`i'eiocity to bethus reduced until itsjreioL-ty is bustier; ine `tortedit will mnintninitself in a. surface et which the velocity oftranslation of the mixture equals the rute of propagation ofinflammation. This combustion-Surface, the surfnee of conetunt velocity,will advance or incr-e995 or decreases; but by causing the spredzLf-:for expansion of the mixture to he sutiieierftly abrupt, with nconsequentl rapid decrease in velocity of translation, thisu'iovement ofthe comhustioxrsurfuce may be reduced and combustion uuiiutuinedwit-hin` liu1- `iits entireiy suited to the requirements of pracvtiroluse of the method even with large Ynjjtiiitiorzs :u tire velocity ntwhich the mixture iS-Siiqpi- `i Furthermore, thisexpunsionnnd rrdutxionof velocity of the `mi.\:ture should he temi tplished in such n niunnerits to cause :in en@ fhtw of the gaseous mixture und to prt-verr` itsditimion wim the` Surroundim;r medium-f. iittfore reaching thc :surfuceof cou- 'stunt veiority utl which the combustion takes plaire. i'

The expansion und reduction of velocity of the mi. rre within thedesired limits und the prt-ver. ot' ditfusiun with other gus muy be:iceozngtmdzr-l in :in v suitable manner und with the. nid of anysuitable iiwiurntus or means. l prefer. hmm-ver. to euuie. the mixtureto flow imo u simu* which is subdivided, so that. un the mixture flowstherethrough its direct zuiver `will be prevented und it will be munrdto shroud out through the sulxlivisiojis of tht` o v and thus to udvnncein inertesin;r r te und with diminibhiug velocity und withc iiiiufiouwith other gais. For thus sultii the spore witlun which thecomhustiesturz'zwe is to be Secured lpreferubly empio? f .i! pieces of nsuitable refractory sed loosely nhout the opening or er piace from whichthe, mixture Y El er luis :in initini velocity greater 5 than therftteof propagation of inthunmntion. The zerorupanying drawingsiliutrnte ser t eral :rays iu which my method may be earried ou:"egt-musing the mixture to How through -lied with small pieces ofrefractory b lt is to be understood, though, that l while i prefer tocarry out my method of comi bustio musing the mixture to flow throughrecede a; the initial velocity of the mit-ture` bcr c to theinlet-opening 2, this pipe L being a suitably-subd ivided space, this initself forming a feature 'ot' Ythe invention, and prefer to .forni sucha subdivided space by means of loose pieces'of refractory material` vetthe invention is not to be limited thereto, the means shown for carryingthe invention into practice being shown' merely by way of example.v Insaid-drawings.Figure 1 illustrates a pre `ferred form of burner forburning combustible gaseous mixtures in 'accordance witliiny inventionand a simple forni of apparatus for supplying a gaseous mixture to theburner. VFigs. 2, 3, and 4: show modified forms thereof. Fig. 5 shows aburner havinga closed com# bastion-chamber. Referring to Fig. l, thegaseous mixture is admitted to the couibi'istio1i-space through acomparatively smallinlet-opening Zand above the inlet-opening the wallsof the burner spread apart, so as to forma' space of graduallyincreasingtransverse area, and the 'space between these spreading walisis tilledwith small pieces of suitable refractorymaterial 3, placed looselytherein, rllie mixture is supplied to the inlet-opening 2 by anysuitable means-as, for example, the means shown-V and caused to fiowtherethrough with a ve locity greater than the rate of propagation ofinfianiniation through the mixture, and rising through the mass offragments or pieces of' refractory material 3 it will be caused tospread out and to advance with diminishing velocit-y and withoutdiffusion with other gas. The combustion-surface will be. at a greateror less distance from the inletopeiiing, according to the initialvelocity of the mixture as itflows from the opening, rising toward oreven to the surface of the refractory material as the initial velocity.increases and retreating toward the inlet-opening as the initialvelocity In Fig. the mixture enters through an in- `let-opening as inFig. l; but tl e pieces of 3 refractory material 3 are merely heap on afiat surface.

heaproi' pieces of refractorymaterial trough a downwardly-pointingnozzle 4.

1n. Fig 4 the constituents of the gaseous mixturefas a suitable gasoroil and a.ir,\a.re fed in proper proportions through separate nozzles5 and 6 and mixed within the heap of pieces of refractory material totorniv the er plosive mixture.' IVhen' oil is fed through, the nozzle 5it will be vaporized by the heat, and the vapor `.vill mix with the airor other 8 gas from the-nozzle 6 to form the explosiv gaseous mixture. Y

In Fig. 5 a burner is shown havingaclosed combustion-eliainber, fromwhich the products vot' combustion may pass under pressure through anexit-passage 7.

It wiii be understood that by the use of the term explosive gaseousmixture liereinis meant a mixture of a suitable gas, as air, con tainingoxygen', with combustible matter ina gaseous or iinely-divided state in'proper proportionswthat is, in proportions such that the mixture willhave the property of self-propagation of infiammation;

1. The method of burning exp] osive gaseous mixtures which consists incausing the mix ture to move with a velocity greater than the rate ofpropagation of inflammation through the mixture, and then reducingthevelocity to therate of propagation of inflammation and preventingdiffusion with other gas, by causing the mixture to spreadout so thatthe successive surfaces of uniform velocity shall have adjacent pointsin any such surface zit-substandiminishes.

In the'I apparatus shown for supplying the gascousrniixiure to theburner, G represents a tank for the fucl-gas, and A a tank for air orother combustion-supporting gas, the gas and air being supplied to thesetanks by any suitable means adapted to maintain a desired pressuretherein. Fi im each tank there cxtcnds an outlet. controlled by valvesgaiid 1, respectively, and these outlets lead to a pipe L, which leadsthrough a safety or gauze chamalso provided with a valve b'. By means ofthe valves f/ and I the proportions of'gas and air in the mixture andVthe velocity with which the mixture fiows through the opening 2 may ,becontrolled, and the velocity of the flov o-t' the mixture may also becontrolled by the `valve 7;'. The proper proportions--tliat is,proportions such, 'according to the Anature of the constituents` thatthe mixture will have the property o sclffliropagation o f infianimation`-and the necessary velocity of fiow of the mixture thlroughthe opening2--may be 'readily'determined by experiment.v Y

tially the same distance from the place where spreading begins, andburning the mixture at the surface at which t-lie velocity is equal t0the rate ot' propagation of infiammation, substantially as described.

2. The method of burning explosivegascous mixtures which consists incausing` the mixture to flow through an opening with a velocity igreater than the rate ot' propagation of infiammation through themixture, and then reduc;

ing the velocity to the rate of propagation of f inflammation andpreventing diffusion with other gas, by causing the mixture to spreadout so that the successive surfaces of uniform f velocity shall haveadjacent points in any such ,1 20 surface at substantially the samedistance from ,I

the opening or place where spreading begins, and burning the mixture atthe surface: at which i the velocity is equal to the rate of propagationof infiammation, substantially as described.

3, The method of burning explosive gaseous mixtures which consists 1ncausing the mixture to fiow with a'velocity greater than the p rate ofpropagation of inammation through the mixture into a space subdividedVso aslto loo i i i cause Athe mixture a5 tad'fnces lto spread out I V yIn testimony whereof I have hereunto set so that the successivesufaesof"umform vemy hand 1n the presence 'of two subserlbmg xo locltysha-1I have ad 1meent pomts m any such witnesses. Y I

Surface at substantially the same distance from CHARLES E the placewhere Spreadig Begins; and burn I ing the mixture atthe Sflface at whichthe. vVitnesses: ,l v elocitfis equl to the rate of propagation of g A.A. Y. BOURKE, inammton,"substantially as described. L l G. M. 'BORSR L.

